T+L Reports: Bright German Things

In Hamburg, Germany's fashion capital, a small army of design-driven shops, restaurants, and hotels is challenging the old guard. Northwest of the city center, in the up-and-coming Schanzenviertel neighborhood, former costume designer and filmmaker Regine Steenbock produces fashion-forward women's wear at Sium (27 Marktstrasse; 49-40/430-7327). The line, both purist and experimental, is crafted from bold graphic prints that playfully transform objects of revulsion (such as beetles) into symbols of beauty. • Tobias Jopp and Stefan Harm, the team behind FKK (21 Hegestrasse; 49-40/4600-9041), are gaining a reputation as the country's next clothing wunderkinder. For spring, the mod styles of the 1960's served as their inspiration, with strong prints and black-and-white patterns making a comeback. • Nearby, Ella Deck (53 Lehmweg; 49-40/4128-7818) sells the romantic floral gowns and dresses that were often splashed across the Hamburg society pages in 2001—when Deck was just out of design school. • In the former Portuguese quarter, the classically trained tailor Thorsten Lewin produces made-to-order men's and women's suits from a choice of 5,000 different fabrics at Lewin (12 Rambachstrasse; 49-40/3750-0660). • The perfect restorative treat after a day spent shopping, 4Experiment Gastraum (32 Karolinenstrasse; 49-40/4318-8432; dinner for two $75) serves unusual dishes created with whatever is fresh at the markets (recently, red snapper in tom yum sauce). The four chefs prepare their back-to-basics meals in an open kitchen done up in juicy colors (tomato red, bright orange). • Come July, the retro East Hotel (31 Simon von Utrecht Strasse; 49-40/3990-8771; www.designhotels.com; doubles from $150) will welcome guests to its 78 organically influenced rooms (earth tones, natural materials), located in a former iron foundry. Just off the Reeperbahn, in the area known as Hamburg's sin mile, the hotel will anchor what is now one of the city's most stylish quarters.
—Kristine Ziwica